07/01/2026
35 Fallacies Explained Simply for You
1. Ad Hominem – Attacking the person instead of the argument
“You’re wrong because you’re stupid.”
2. Straw Man – Misrepresenting someone’s argument to attack it
“You want less homework? So you want students to learn nothing.”
3. Appeal to Authority – Saying something is true because an authority said it
“A celebrity says it, so it must be true.”
4. False Dilemma – Presenting only two choices when more exist
“Either agree with me or you’re against us.”
5. Slippery Slope – Claiming one small step will lead to extreme results
“If we allow this, everything will collapse.”
6. Circular Reasoning – The conclusion repeats the premise
“It’s true because it’s true.”
7. Hasty Generalization – Making a broad claim from little evidence
“Two people were rude, so everyone is rude.”
8. Post Hoc (False Cause) – Assuming one thing caused another just because it came first
“I wore lucky socks and we won.”
9. Bandwagon – Believing something because many people do
“Everyone thinks this, so it’s right.”
10. Red Herring – Changing the topic to distract from the real issue
“Why talk about corruption when crime is worse?”
11. Appeal to Emotion – Using feelings instead of facts
“Think of the children!”
12. False Equivalence – Treating unequal things as equal
“Forgetting homework is the same as cheating.”
13. Loaded Question – Asking a question with an unfair assumption
“Have you stopped lying?”
14. No True Scotsman – Redefining a group to ignore counterexamples
“No true fan would criticize the team.”
15. Anecdotal Evidence – Using personal stories instead of data
“It worked for me, so it works for everyone.”
16. Appeal to Ignorance – Claiming something is true because it hasn’t been disproven
“No one proved it’s false.”
17. Middle Ground – Assuming the compromise is always correct
“The truth must be halfway.”
18. Tu Quoque – Dismissing criticism because the critic does it too
“You do it too, so it’s fine.”
19. Texas Sharpshooter – Cherry-picking data that fits your claim
“Look at these selected examples.”
20. Fallacy of Composition – Assuming what’s true of parts is true of the whole
“Each player is great, so the team must be great.”
21. Fallacy of Division – Assuming what’s true of the whole is true of parts
“The team is great, so every player is great.”
22. Appeal to Tradition – Saying something is right because it’s old
“We’ve always done it this way.”
23. Appeal to Novelty – Saying something is better because it’s new
“It’s new, so it’s better.”
24. Genetic Fallacy – Judging an idea by its source
“It came from them, so it’s wrong.”
25. Moving the Goalposts – Changing criteria after they’re met
“That’s not enough—do more.”
26. False Balance – Treating unequal viewpoints as equally valid
“Both sides deserve equal time.”
27. Overgeneralization – Using words like always or never
“You always mess up.”
28. Appeal to Fear – Scaring people into agreement
“If we don’t act, disaster will strike.”
29. Begging the Question – Assuming what you’re trying to prove
“This law is good because it’s necessary.”
30. Black-or-White Thinking – Ignoring complexity
“It’s either perfect or useless.”
31. False Analogy – Comparing things that aren’t truly similar
“Running a country is like running a household.”
32. Special Pleading – Making exceptions for your own case
“The rules don’t apply to me.”
33. Burden of Proof Shift – Making others disprove your claim
“Prove me wrong.”
34 Appeal to Popularity – Equating popularity with truth
“It has millions of likes.”
Personal Incredulity – Rejecting something because you don’t understand it
“I can’t imagine it, so it’s false.”
